For those in the world of architecture and design — Marie Flanigan, owner of Marie Flanigan Interiors, needs no introduction. While her homebase is in Houston, Texas, her full-service interior design firm has made its way to commercial spaces and luxury homes across the country. Rooted and educated in commercial architecture, she has a signature edge that finds a way to remain simplistic and elegant. This award-winning interior designer has always gravitated towards visual expression and her success in the space shines through her internationally published work.

As an interiors and architectural photographer and stylist, the root of my own success stands on thinking outside the box, leading from a place of vulnerability, collaboration, championing my clients, and creating meaningful daily content. Marie is carrying the same torch — uncovering and inspiring beauty within the homes and lives of her national clientele alongside a team of nine other creative women. By turning her passions into a way to serve others, she is fulfilling her own desires while inviting people home to an environment that they can love. Her sophisticated use of color and texture contributes to her idea that The New Southern is about ‘creating meaningful impact through contrast’. Slowing down, celebrating unique stories and doing more of what speaks to her heart is what makes Marie’s design work so distinguished.

The New Southern embraces risk takers that not only dedicate themselves to their passion projects but bring light and lift the souls they cross along the way. Marie is one of these New Southerners, delivering a tasteful blend of connection and imagination to the business. Full of taking risks and exquisitely marrying architecture with design elements — she’s a design maven worth mentioning and I’m so happy to have her with us!

Alyssa Rosenheck: Tell us about yourself…

Marie Flanigan: I live in the Heights neighborhood of Houston with my husband and two little boys, John (age 4) and William (9 months). I grew up in a small Texas town and was blessed with a very creative family — my brothers and sisters are musically talented, and I’ve always gravitated towards a more visual expression. I earned my Bachelor of Architecture degree and began my career at an architecture firm shortly thereafter. It was only once I transitioned to a firm that managed both architecture and interior design projects that I discovered my passion for interiors. I was delighted to be stepping out from behind the computer to connect with families and develop solutions that would enrich their home experience. The work remains technical, but it feels so much more meaningful to me. Over the years I also grew to love the strategy and marketing techniques that ensure growth for smaller businesses and decided to pursue a Masters in Business Administration. In 2010, with my MBA in hand, I married my two passions and opened the doors to Marie Flanigan Interiors. Today, we are a team of nine women connected through creativity and service, helping clients across the country uncover the beauty of home.

AR: How are you modernizing / updating Southern style when you design?

MF: Modern Southern style pays homage to historic sensibilities in fresh, unexpected ways. It is thoughtfully curated and exquisitely restrained, creating meaningful impact through contrast. The union of old with new, raw with refined, and ornate with streamlined creates timeless, richly layered interiors that will remain authentic for generations to come.

AR: What innovative trends are you seeing with Southern design across the country?

MF: In a world where we are inundated with information and new trends magically appear overnight, I’ve enjoyed the steady shift towards doing less of what the latest style reports tell you to do and more of what speaks to your heart. This challenges us as designers to reimagine, rejuvenate and take risks. Slowing down and paying attention to every detail in order to celebrate its unique story is a decidedly Southern approach. In our clients’ homes, I definitely see an increased desire for reinvigorating formal entertaining spaces and embracing distinctive architectural details in lieu of removing them.

AR: What are your favorite hometown design boutiques?

MF: Houston is filled with inspiring showrooms and, with such a vibrant and diverse city, new places pop up every year! A few of our tried and true favorites are AREA, FOUND for the Home, MECOX, Chateau Domingue, and Vieux Interiors!

Alyssa Rosenheck's The New Southern Designer Spotlight with Marie Flanigan, Marie Flanigan Interiors of Houston, TX

AR: Favorite shade of white and black paint color?

MF: White...Benjamin Moore Cloud White. Black...Farrow & Ball Pitch Black.

AR: What’s your life motto?

MF: Uncover and inspire beauty in the lives of others.

AR: The one shade that changes everything?

MF: White is color in its purest form. It is the pause, the blank canvas that restores a calming sense of balance. I turn to subtle, soothing whites when I want to quiet one element and in turn allow others the opportunity to be seen and heard.

AR: The place you go to get inspired?

MF: I am inspired most by people and travel. New places and different cultures help me to view familiar ones with fresh eyes. I’m also an artist at heart, so perusing a gallery or admiring another artist’s work always leaves me feeling refreshed.

AR: The key to making a house a home? What does a home need more of and less of?

MF: More intentionality. Less stuff. A home should be a curated collection of the items that bring beauty to the lives of the people who live there. We are the best version of ourselves in the spaces that ease and inspire us. Sift out the clutter and distill down to the essence of what you cherish most. The result will be an enduring and timeless environment that brings light and lift to those within.

AR: Life advice you’ve gotten that made all the difference?

MF: A mentor once shared that there are four quadrants of importance for the things we do every day:

Important/Urgent
Important/Non-Urgent
Non-Important/Urgent
Non-Important/Non-Urgent

Most of us fill our time with the third category of non-important yet urgent tasks every day. However, the items in the second category are often the MOST important, and they almost never get our time or attention. It’s so important to prioritize our days so that we are spending valuable minutes in the first two quadrants. Once I started viewing my to-do list within this framework, my life and business changed for the better.

AR: What’s the best piece of business advice you could provide for creative entrepreneurs starting out?

MF: Find a way for your passions to serve others. The work will come when you discover where a need exists and then provide a valuable service that fulfills that need. Also, as cliché as it sounds, don’t be afraid of what anyone else thinks. People are always going to have opinions, but staying true to who you are is essential to creating work that is meaningful to you and the outside world.

AR: Design book you’ll always have on your shelf?

MF: Style by Saladino by John F. Saladino. John’s exquisite approach to design sparked my passion for the art of mixing old with new.

AR: What’s your dream project/client?

MF: SO many dreams, so little time! To start, I’ve fallen in love with Nottingham Cottage where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be putting down roots. They share a warmth of spirit and classic sense of style that is so appealing. It would be a joy to collaborate with them to create a home that encapsulates their most treasured life moments.

As far as dream projects are concerned, I have my sights set on the development of an MFI furniture collection. I’m not sure when or how that will happen, but it’s a concept that I am very excited about!

What happens when intention, inspiration, and a leap of faith all come together…. This brings you to a field in Round Top, Texas where Paige Hull once stood when she had a realization taking her from an extensive corporate background to pursue her creative compulsion towards design. This realization led her to create and design a home, now one of the most coveted spots in Round Top, where style names like Emily Henderson, Emily + Meritt, and Sea of Shoes have visited and applauded. Alongside her husband Smoot, Paige’s road took a strong pivot, and a return to the basics and simplicity, married with her passion for finding antique pieces that can tell a story and evoke an emotional response, attracted her to this Texas town famously known for vintage treasures.

Paige’s style is exquisitely laid-back—unfussy, relaxed, raw. A simplistic canvas sets the backdrop for her antique pieces, repurposed in a setting to give them a second or even third life. Her own jewel is The Vintage Round Top, a reno-farmhouse-venture-turned-modern-rental that beautifully fuses reclaimed building materials and found objects with modern, clean lines and an abundance of natural light. Beautifully white walls, restored wood beams, galvanized metal art, upcycled lighting, and vintage textiles intermix, as Paige weaves unfinished materials and one of a kind pieces throughout her design. This accompaniment catches our eye, as each vintage piece in the space seems to shine brighter placed among more modern pairings. A pioneer and strong female voice, Paige built The Vintage Round Top from the ground up, pursuing her mantra “live with intention” with grace and passion. Inspiring those both locally and nationally along her journey, she embodies the core of The New Southern, speaking on a platform that first started as a dream in a field.

Photo: ©Natalie Lacy Lange | The Vintage Round Top — Photo: ©Natalie Lacy Lange | The Vintage Round Top

We sat down with Paige to hear her thoughts on southern design, how she created her lifestyle brand, and her go-to places that spark inspiration.

Alyssa Rosenheck: Tell me about yourself.

Paige Hull: My husband, Smoot, and I thrive on creativity, hospitality, and design. We’ve been business partners since we married almost twenty years ago, and we’re parents to three wonderful children. Our previous careers as a model/talent agent and a night club/restaurant owner helped shape the “Modern Vintage” style we created in 2011 with our vacation home rental, located in Round Top, Texas. The home we call The Vintage Round Top, quickly grew into a lifestyle brand and has expanded with a second attached home and event space. Our antiques business, home goods collection, and hotel amenity line allow us to express our individuality, as well as collaborate with artisans and other imaginative people we admire. It’s the embodiment of our desire to live creatively, sustainably, and charitably.

Photo: ©Haylei Smith | The Vintage Round Top

Photo: ©TessaNeustadt for Emily Henderson | The Vintage Round Top

AR: How are you modernizing / updating southern style when you design?

PH: Our style is Southern at its core with a modern spirit. We take pieces we find locally and abroad, allowing them to shine against a backdrop of white walls to cultivate a feeling of airiness and light. It yields a warmth, balanced with an overall clean sensibility. The vintage pieces we use all have character and patina, each with a story to tell.

AR: What innovative trends are you seeing with southern design across the country?

PH: Southern design is being embraced with open arms. It has evolved into an uncluttered aesthetic that has room for personal interpretation. In our case, it’s grounded in a clean color palette that appeals to both men and women, representing a compromise between masculine lines and softer accessories with natural elements. People are allowing themselves to design for the life they live and to be comfortable in their own homes, while at the same time loving the look and vibe of their space.

© Alyssa Rosenheck's The New Southern Designer Spotlight with Paige Hull, The Vintage Round Top of Round Top, TX

AR: What are your favorite hometown design boutiques?

PH: In Houston: Renovate and Kuhl-Linscomb. In Round Top: The Compound, Marburger Farm, and Ex-Cess. In Austin: UnCommon Objects, Wildflower, and Mockingbird Domestics.

AR: Favorite shade of white and black paint color?

PH: “Pip” by Martha Stewart is my favorite shade of white, but you’ll have to color match since it’s discontinued. “Lincoln Cottage” by Valspar is my black shade of choice.

AR: What’s your life motto?

PH: “Live With Intention.” When we began our Modern Vintage journey we were having lunch in Round Top at Royer’s, and the owner, Bud, said the difference between the people that just talk about what they want to do and the people that act on it are people that “live with intention.” We took that advice to heart and have never looked back.

AR: The place you go to get inspired?

PH: France has our heart and Round Top has our soul. We go to France to wander the flea markets and find treasures to renew our vision. We go to Round Top to put it all together, to give it purpose, and to execute the ideas we dreamt up over croissants and coffee.

AR: What’s the best piece of business advice you could provide for creative entrepreneurs starting out?

PH: Trial and error. Don’t be afraid of mistakes. We love finding funky old pieces and turning them into something new, while mixing them with modern finishes. Turning cow feed sifters into sconces and putting brass counters in the boho kitchen embodies our Modern Vintage style. It’s old, it’s new, it’s unexpected.

Photo: ©TessaNeustadt for Emily Henderson with  Lauren Williams Art | The Vintage Round Top — Photo: ©TessaNeustadt for Emily Henderson with Lauren Williams Art | The Vintage Round Top

AR: Tell us something we probably don’t know.

PH: Smoot used to be a restaurant owner/nightclub promoter and I was the vice president of a modeling agency. We met working on a fashion show together and became friends. Fifteen years later, sparks flew when we ran into one another at an event. Since then (almost twenty years later), we have three children, two thriving businesses, and an appreciation that we get to do what we love together.

AR: What’s your dream project/client?

PH: Our dream project would be to design a boutique hotel. We love to travel and could not think of a more exciting and amazing project than designing the lobby, guest rooms, bathrooms and outdoor spaces for a hotel. We love focusing on the details, the often-overlooked elements that complete a room and putting our spin on it.

AR: The greatest color combination that ever existed?

PH: Black, brown, and white.